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Skeleton Man

Genre: Crime, Mystery & Thriller
Format: Paperback
ISBN: 9780749082697
Rights: UK & C, ex C, US, Au, NZ
Pub. Date: 26th June 2006

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Price: £6.99

Format: Paperback

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Former Navajo Tribal Police lieutenant Joe Leaphorn comes out of retirement to help investigate what seems to be a trading post robbery. A simpleminded kid nailed for the crime is the cousin of an old colleague of Sergeant Jim Chee. He needs help, and Chee and his fiancée, Bernie Manuelito, decide to provide it.

Proving the kid's innocence requires finding the remains of one of the 172 people whose bodies were scattered among the cliffs of the Grand Canyon in an epic airline disaster fifty years in the past. That passenger had handcuffed to his wrist an attaché case filled with a fortune in diamonds - one of which seems to have turned up in the robbery.

But with Hillerman, it can't be that simple. The daughter of the long-dead diamond dealer is also seeking his body. So is a most unpleasant fellow, willing to kill to make sure she doesn't succeed. These two tense tales collide deep in the canyon at the place where an old man died trying to build a cult reviving reverence for the Hopi guardian of the Underworld. It's a race to the finish in a thunderous monsoon to see who will survive, who will be brought to justice, and who will finally unearth the Skeleton Man.

‘Fascinating … Indian legends and lore and the magnificent landscape of a thousand westerns add a unique dimension. The interplay between the characters is also finely sketched and offers rare insights into American attitudes to race and heritage. Well worth investigating.’Guardian

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‘These are fully-fleshed characters living in a real, often corrupt world. Tony Hillerman is a consummate professional, writing uniquely atmospheric crime novels like no one else.’Birmingham Post

‘As always, Hillerman’s relaxed storytelling and fascinating insight into Navajo and Hopi culture make entertaining reading’Sunday Telegraph

‘I’m going to go back and read the rest of Hillerman’s series… After reading this latest offering, you will want to do the same. If you are not a Hillerman addict already’Tangled Web

‘Fascinating…delightful tales set in one of the most exotic environments crime fiction can offer. Well worth investigating’Crime Time

‘A classic Hillerman novel’www.crimesquad.com

‘His series is made up of fascinating, well-researched and carefully crafted stories… Of all the mavericks in crime fiction [Jim Chee] is one of the most original… I love these books, and am grateful for any new episode in the stories of these characters… It’s gripping stuff. Tony Hillerman is a superb storyteller’The Glasgow Herald